Sweet Home’s girls won nine of 11 events at the Stayton Invitational swim meet Saturday, Dec. 28, as the Huskies got back in the pool after Christmas break.
Hunter Calderwood was the only winner for the boys, taking the 200 Individual Medley in 2:55.9, though he also was second in the 400 Freestyle (5:11.2) in Stayton’s metric pool.
“We swam well as a team, but swimming this meet in a meter pool, it’s difficult to tell what our yards times would be,” Coach Doug Peargin said. “
The girls won with 205 points, ahead of Stayton (128), Cascade (65), Philomath (63) and Salem Academy (45).
“We knew at the start of the season that our girls would be strong and they sure have been showing that they are,” Peargin said, noting that in the two events his girls didn’t win, they took second.
Individual winners for the girls were Megan Hager in the 200 (2:11.3) and 400 Freestyle (4:44.0); Chloe Tyler in the 200 IM (2:38.2) and the 100 Freestyle (1:04.4); and Malia Hewitt in the 50 Freestyle (29.9) and 100 Backstroke (1:13.1). They also won all three relays, including a 1-3-5 finish in the 400 Freestyle Relay, won by Isabel Sayer, Hewitt, Torree Hawken and Tyler in 4:38.5.
On the boys side, Salem Academy was first with 134 points, ahead of Stayton (115), Sweet Home (85), Cascade (52) and Philomath (43).
Sweet Home’s boys were second in both freestyle relays.
“With only five boys on the team, we’re surprising some people, but when all five of them place in every event that they are in (which was the case Saturday), that certainly helps,” Peargin said, of his swimmers, who are all underclassmen.
Up next for the Huskies is the toughest part of their season, as they face some of the state’s top 4A and 4A teams at the Lebanon Invitational at noon Saturday, Jan. 4, at Lebanon High School – “one of the strongest fields of any invitational in the state,” Peargin said.
“We’re going to continue to work hard this coming week and see just how well we can compete while we’re tired. When we swim well while we’re tired, we know we’ll really be ready when we get to district and state.”